Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Larks, Barney Tall and more
Well, the guy with the Larks record mentioned on my last post, didn't sell his record. Surprise! Not! Another guy has one that may be VG with a double edge warp, and you can pick it up for 5 bucks. A long ways from 5,000 clams, that's for sure.
Follow up on Barney Tall. The record is I'd Rather Be Wrong and Little Love Letters. The former is pure country, at a extremely irritatingly slow pace. Little Love Letters is actually worth the price of admission. It's a tough record to pigeonhole into a category. The Slades appear to be doing background, making it a group record. You can hear the "Steel" throughout the recording, and then the instrumental break comes up. Not only does it stay uptempo, but it sounds more like a rock and roll record with that country influence. I will let you know when it gets posted on my web site. I think you might really like this one!
I hate to tease, but I also found another record by Kathy Lynn and the Playboys. It is great girl group rock and roll from the early 60's, and a strong two sider. Yeah, I will get it posted too!
So, If I am going through the stack of records I need to post on my website, I might as well tell you about a few more that you will be seeing. I have the Little Sylvia record from the Savoy label called "Little Boy", on a 45. The year would be 1951, and is fairly scarce in this format. The group records on Savoy bring some big bucks, but this is unlisted in most guides and would probably bring 50-100 in mint condition.
The Pentagons inaugural record called "To Be Loved" was first issued on Fleet International, before going mainstream with the Donna label. Look for the first issue on my first and second labels page.
I have a few new Turbans records to add, including an odd reissue on Sphere Sound, a promo on Herald and an unreleased one-sided demo recording that would have been waxed for Roulette, but must have been ditched at the last minute. I always have liked the Turbans, and you can see many of their records on my Turbans page.
Follow up on Barney Tall. The record is I'd Rather Be Wrong and Little Love Letters. The former is pure country, at a extremely irritatingly slow pace. Little Love Letters is actually worth the price of admission. It's a tough record to pigeonhole into a category. The Slades appear to be doing background, making it a group record. You can hear the "Steel" throughout the recording, and then the instrumental break comes up. Not only does it stay uptempo, but it sounds more like a rock and roll record with that country influence. I will let you know when it gets posted on my web site. I think you might really like this one!
I hate to tease, but I also found another record by Kathy Lynn and the Playboys. It is great girl group rock and roll from the early 60's, and a strong two sider. Yeah, I will get it posted too!
So, If I am going through the stack of records I need to post on my website, I might as well tell you about a few more that you will be seeing. I have the Little Sylvia record from the Savoy label called "Little Boy", on a 45. The year would be 1951, and is fairly scarce in this format. The group records on Savoy bring some big bucks, but this is unlisted in most guides and would probably bring 50-100 in mint condition.
The Pentagons inaugural record called "To Be Loved" was first issued on Fleet International, before going mainstream with the Donna label. Look for the first issue on my first and second labels page.
I have a few new Turbans records to add, including an odd reissue on Sphere Sound, a promo on Herald and an unreleased one-sided demo recording that would have been waxed for Roulette, but must have been ditched at the last minute. I always have liked the Turbans, and you can see many of their records on my Turbans page.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Ebay, Barney Tall, and Fay Simmons
I've got another Ebay wishful thinker for you! One of the great collectables of all time is the Larks recording on Apollo called My Reverie. The original was issued on the blue label and was on orange wax. That is a very desirable record and in mint condition it's value is upwards of 5,000.00 depending on your price guide. It was later reissued on the yellow Apollo label and on red wax. There is a guy on Ebay that has the yellow one for sale for a measly 4500.00, though he states the reserve is 5000.00. He needs to check these things out before plunking down 50 bucks for his listing. That's $5 for the insertion and $45 for the reserve fees. It's his first attempt on Ebay and it won't be a memorable one. At last glance he had over 300 "lookers", and I bet he had more than one email about his error. He is probably hanging on just in case someone makes a big mistake. I gave up emailing sellers their errors because most don't appreciate being told that they have a boot or a record with a substantially diminished value. Research your items folks! This error is the difference between a 5K plus record and a 40 dollar reissue. Check it out here.
Do you sell 78's? If so, I hope you know how to package them. It seems that many people don't realize they need some box around them. It should be a minimum of 3 inches thick, and I prefer 5 inches. I got one broken the other day and a 3/4 inch box was used. I try to tell all sellers what is best, and most listen. This was an experienced seller...but apparently not in 78's. I once got a Jive Bombers 78 in a manila envelope. Guess what? It MADE IT IN ONE PIECE!!!! Talk about miracles with the US Post Office.
I finally got a copy of the Castle Kings "You Can Get Him Frankenstein". It's not a tough record to obtain for most people, but it was for me. It is worth about double the book value of 8-10 bucks. It's a great uptempo Halloween novelty. This one really rocks. Has anyone heard their follow-up called Jeanette?
I am so far behind on my website, it may never get caught up. Here is a newsflash: I now have a copy of "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" by Fay Simmons on VTONE. I didn't think that it even existed on the label even though the books said it did. I know better to believe everything I read, but in this case I should have. It's a promo just like the issue on Palm.
One of the updates I will need to make is on the Domino label page. I have a Barney Tall release which is supposed to be country. The seller said that the Slades were on the record, but I need to hear it, to believe it. This is Domino 907 which is one of two releases for Mr. Tall. The other was on 909. What I am not sure of is exactly what sides are on 909. The info I had on 907 is incorrect on my website, so I will fix that. Both pieces on information came from the same source (Ken Clee), and we have already clashed on what really was issued on the label. He has items that never were on the same Texas based label, but shows them that way. I will find out about Barney Tall, as the truth is out there!
Do you sell 78's? If so, I hope you know how to package them. It seems that many people don't realize they need some box around them. It should be a minimum of 3 inches thick, and I prefer 5 inches. I got one broken the other day and a 3/4 inch box was used. I try to tell all sellers what is best, and most listen. This was an experienced seller...but apparently not in 78's. I once got a Jive Bombers 78 in a manila envelope. Guess what? It MADE IT IN ONE PIECE!!!! Talk about miracles with the US Post Office.
I finally got a copy of the Castle Kings "You Can Get Him Frankenstein". It's not a tough record to obtain for most people, but it was for me. It is worth about double the book value of 8-10 bucks. It's a great uptempo Halloween novelty. This one really rocks. Has anyone heard their follow-up called Jeanette?
I am so far behind on my website, it may never get caught up. Here is a newsflash: I now have a copy of "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" by Fay Simmons on VTONE. I didn't think that it even existed on the label even though the books said it did. I know better to believe everything I read, but in this case I should have. It's a promo just like the issue on Palm.
One of the updates I will need to make is on the Domino label page. I have a Barney Tall release which is supposed to be country. The seller said that the Slades were on the record, but I need to hear it, to believe it. This is Domino 907 which is one of two releases for Mr. Tall. The other was on 909. What I am not sure of is exactly what sides are on 909. The info I had on 907 is incorrect on my website, so I will fix that. Both pieces on information came from the same source (Ken Clee), and we have already clashed on what really was issued on the label. He has items that never were on the same Texas based label, but shows them that way. I will find out about Barney Tall, as the truth is out there!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Larry Hall, Mills Bros, and Ace in the UK
I am still a bit confused on the issues of the hit "Sandy" by Larry Hall. I know it was released on the Hot label, as issue number one. I now have both a promotional and stock issue. Both are stamped originals. I also have the common Strand label record, but the one in question is the Evergreen label issue. I believe there was a very scarce picture sleeve that was made, but what I am really interested in, is when the Evergreen issue was made. The books say Hot came first, but I keep thinking I saw a picture of the Evergreen release that had a sticker referencing the Hot label release. Anybody know for sure? Was Evergreen before Hot?
I love group harmony, but I seldom delve into some of the "Old Timey" groups that really do deserve more credit. Groups like the Ink Spots, the Four Aces, The Four Knights, and the Mills Brothers. One of my favorite records by the Mills Brothers is a song they did in 1968 called Cab Driver. I can't explain why, but it is a fun song to listen to. It is upbeat, under three minutes long and has a good sound. I recently found it on blue vinyl, and it is not marked as a promotional copy. I also have it on the standard black wax.
News out of the U.K.: Ace records is working on a CD of Johnnie And Joe. There was an Italian CD on the Gold Dust label that included most of their recordings that was issued several years ago. I was asked to assist on the project with some label pictures, and they may include a picture of me with Joe Rivers taken at the 2002 Red,White, and Rock show. I have a celebrities page where you can see the picture and a few record label shots. Getting an entire page of Johnnie and Joe will take some time, as there are a ton of records in their discography. One of the labels, J+S, is an extremely tough label to date. Peter Gibbon is in charge of the project for Ace, and he gave me an early look at the discography he has. It should clear up any confusion to what was released when. Look for this CD towards the end of the year. If you have not seen their catalog, you should stop by the Ace website. They have a wide variety of excellent releases with top notch liner notes.
Have you seen any wild records on Ebay lately? Let me know. Remember the guy with the Chuck Higgins record I told you about last week? He had Pachuko Hop for sale on the purple Combo label for $199.00 in VG condition. Well folks, he decided to try and cut his losses and offer a deep discount. Last I saw, you could "steal it" for $149.00!! Then, it disappeared from Ebay because the seller ended the listing early. And well he should have.
I love group harmony, but I seldom delve into some of the "Old Timey" groups that really do deserve more credit. Groups like the Ink Spots, the Four Aces, The Four Knights, and the Mills Brothers. One of my favorite records by the Mills Brothers is a song they did in 1968 called Cab Driver. I can't explain why, but it is a fun song to listen to. It is upbeat, under three minutes long and has a good sound. I recently found it on blue vinyl, and it is not marked as a promotional copy. I also have it on the standard black wax.
News out of the U.K.: Ace records is working on a CD of Johnnie And Joe. There was an Italian CD on the Gold Dust label that included most of their recordings that was issued several years ago. I was asked to assist on the project with some label pictures, and they may include a picture of me with Joe Rivers taken at the 2002 Red,White, and Rock show. I have a celebrities page where you can see the picture and a few record label shots. Getting an entire page of Johnnie and Joe will take some time, as there are a ton of records in their discography. One of the labels, J+S, is an extremely tough label to date. Peter Gibbon is in charge of the project for Ace, and he gave me an early look at the discography he has. It should clear up any confusion to what was released when. Look for this CD towards the end of the year. If you have not seen their catalog, you should stop by the Ace website. They have a wide variety of excellent releases with top notch liner notes.
Have you seen any wild records on Ebay lately? Let me know. Remember the guy with the Chuck Higgins record I told you about last week? He had Pachuko Hop for sale on the purple Combo label for $199.00 in VG condition. Well folks, he decided to try and cut his losses and offer a deep discount. Last I saw, you could "steal it" for $149.00!! Then, it disappeared from Ebay because the seller ended the listing early. And well he should have.
